Come on he has got to do a better job than Kimi has been doing for the last 4 years!

Best case scenario he romps home with the WDC showing Vettel how to drive competently, worst case scenario he makes a good number two, Ferrari get major kudos for taking on a genuine talent beset by injury.

I genuinely believe Kubica would be at least 3rd fastest guy on the grid after Lewis and Vettel. IIRC Alonso called him the fastest of their generation in karts and I believe his potential has never been fully realised. He understands where and how to make a car drive faster unlike the playboys and bluechip magnets.

Pay off Kimi again if you have to Ferrari! I used to support him in Formula Renault but he has not been competitive or winning for 4 years, it is time he retired gracefully. I hope he proves me wrong through 2018 but surely another driver could win in that Ferrari?

When was the last time a driver compete that long without a win and re-emerged victorious?

Come on he has got to do a better job than Kimi has been doing for the last 4 years!

Best case scenario he romps home with the WDC showing Vettel how to drive competently, worst case scenario he makes a good number two, Ferrari get major kudos for taking on a genuine talent beset by injury.

No, I'm afraid the worst case scenario is rather Luca Badoer-like, where Vettel is winning races while he finishes a lap down outside the points. Kubica hasn't driven an F1 car in almost 10 years; nobody's ever come back competitively after that long out, and that's not even counting the injury.

pendulumeffect wrote:

I genuinely believe Kubica would be at least 3rd fastest guy on the grid after Lewis and Vettel. IIRC Alonso called him the fastest of their generation in karts and I believe his potential has never been fully realised. He understands where and how to make a car drive faster unlike the playboys and bluechip magnets.

I believe he had the potential to be in that top group, up there with Alonso and Hamilton, possibly better than Vettel. But that was a long time ago. If his potential was never realized, it never will be now.

pendulumeffect wrote:

Pay off Kimi again if you have to Ferrari! I used to support him in Formula Renault but he has not been competitive or winning for 4 years, it is time he retired gracefully. I hope he proves me wrong through 2018 but surely another driver could win in that Ferrari?

When was the last time a driver compete that long without a win and re-emerged victorious?

Never. I think you're right about Kimi, just not so much about Kubica.

EDIT: Although to be fair on the last point, Kimi's last win is only about a month behind Alonso's last win, and I fully believe Alonso would still be capable of winning in that Ferrari. The difference is that Kimi hasn't won a race in almost 5 years despite being in a car capable of doing so.

I've read from various F1 sites including this one that Robert Kubica lacked speed over one lap, so in my opinion as I really wanted Kubica to comeback (there's still a chance) Kimi[i][/i]is the better option for Ferrari.

So until Sergey Sirotkin is officially announced at Williams for 2018 there is still a chance that Robert Kubica races for Williams in 2018, I doubt it but I'm trying to be optimistic....

I’d like to see Kubica back in F1 but I think we have to be realistic. If he were Hamilton/Vettel standard or even just below then Williams would have already announced him, sure Sirotkin brings a few more dollars but not enough for them to pass on that kind of talent.

Best case scenario is he would be about as good as Kimi IMO and given the recent news around his tests I’m not convinced of even that unfortunately.

I can't help but feel people are clutching at straws a little here. Renault deciding to take Sainz rather than Kubica was understandable, but the fact he looks likely to lose out to Sirotkin speaks volumes. Yes, there is a $$$ aspect to it, but if the reports Kubica was going to bring half of what Sirotkin was are accurate then I imagine Williams could've signed Kubica and had Sirotkin as their third driver. Obviously they wouldn't have got the same money from Sirotkin's backers that way, but I'm sure they could've still made a couple of million out of giving him a few FP1 runs. Combine that with the money Kubica was bringing and they probably wouldn't have ended up that much worse off than if they'd simply signed Sirotkin. And if that's the case, and they genuinely believed Kubica was the faster driver then there's a decent possibility he'd help them earn more money through performance than Sirotkin would've.

I get that Kubica has a big fanbase and there are a lot of people who want to see him return to F1 given all he's been through (hell, you can include me in that category) but if Williams sign Sirotkin then I think that's it for Kubica's F1 career. And the idea that he should replace Raikkonen is... let's call it very, very optimistic.

I believe Kimi has had opportunities to win races the last 4 years. BUT, it's apparent to me that Team Orders have prevented it. It's clear to me that Vettel is the favored driver at Ferrari, so that has to play mind games on one's motivation.

I was truly puzzled why KR left F1 for rally cars so soon after winning his WDC in 2007. Throughout his career, he seemed to be somewhat ambivilent about his driving, and to lose interest in challenges once he achieves his goals.

If that is true, then I would fault Ferrari for keeping him around, rather than faulting Raikkonen for being a satisfied team player. It takes a special mindset to be content with playing second fiddle, and a special team to double-talk it's drivers... expecting both to die for their team, while telling one that his performance is expendable on demand.

I recall there was at least one race this past year (Hungary?) in which Kimi was legitimately leading, yet made to surrender it to Vettel.

_________________Short-time member, Life-Long Fan from 1965 -- More than 550 Grand Prix recorded since 1982 (all but 3), and counting...

I recall there was at least one race this past year (Hungary?) in which Kimi was legitimately leading, yet made to surrender it to Vettel.

That never happened, although there were two occasions where it was somewhat close. In Monaco Kimi was legitimately leading (the only time all year, I think) and got beaten by Vettel on strategy. In Hungary, Kimi was ordered not to attack, but he was never leading.

MB-BOB wrote:

I was truly puzzled why KR left F1 for rally cars so soon after winning his WDC in 2007. Throughout his career, he seemed to be somewhat ambivilent about his driving, and to lose interest in challenges once he achieves his goals.

He left because Ferrari fired him, and paid him not to drive for other teams.

Ofcourse he would... Who wouldnt want a fellow colleague who tries there best and Cant do your job better then you. Gives vettel more power within the team as his teammate is no threat to him what so ever and if ferrari ever told vettel something he didnt like he has the best answer. " lets see how well u do with just kimi."

Vettel needs a better teammate so we can see vettel at his best. Yes he is chasing hamilton and that will motivate him but having a teammate breathing down ur neck in the same machinary will make him push even more. (No new/ returning driver will present vettel with this challenge tho.)

doesn't really matter, since there's not a hope in hell of Kubica getting a Ferrari seat. Vettel's feelings are a long way down the list of reasons why not

But regardless of Vettel's opinion, I find it hard to believe anyone would truly believe that Kubica would be an upgrade. It may be a story straight out of Hollywood, but let's get real, here. The odds against Kubica coming back stronger than when he left - or even equal to - are astronomically low

Come on he has got to do a better job than Kimi has been doing for the last 4 years!

Best case scenario he romps home with the WDC showing Vettel how to drive competently, worst case scenario he makes a good number two, Ferrari get major kudos for taking on a genuine talent beset by injury.

I genuinely believe Kubica would be at least 3rd fastest guy on the grid after Lewis and Vettel. IIRC Alonso called him the fastest of their generation in karts and I believe his potential has never been fully realised. He understands where and how to make a car drive faster unlike the playboys and bluechip magnets.

Pay off Kimi again if you have to Ferrari! I used to support him in Formula Renault but he has not been competitive or winning for 4 years, it is time he retired gracefully. I hope he proves me wrong through 2018 but surely another driver could win in that Ferrari?

When was the last time a driver compete that long without a win and re-emerged victorious?

This is not the same Kubica though and 3rd fastest driver, I wouldn't even say that at his peak.

I'm as disappointed as anyone that it's looking like Kubica won't be on the grid next year after all, but both Williams and Renault had a very serious look at him and gave him extensive testing time to prove himself. If both teams have decided not to take him on, I'd say that's a good enough indication that he's not up to standard any more. A shame as he's shown incredible strength of character to even get himself back into an F1 car given the extent of his injuries and it would have been a truly remarkable story to see him on the grid again, but if it's not going to be then there's clearly a good reason for it.

Come on he has got to do a better job than Kimi has been doing for the last 4 years!

Best case scenario he romps home with the WDC showing Vettel how to drive competently, worst case scenario he makes a good number two, Ferrari get major kudos for taking on a genuine talent beset by injury.

I genuinely believe Kubica would be at least 3rd fastest guy on the grid after Lewis and Vettel. IIRC Alonso called him the fastest of their generation in karts and I believe his potential has never been fully realised. He understands where and how to make a car drive faster unlike the playboys and bluechip magnets.

Pay off Kimi again if you have to Ferrari! I used to support him in Formula Renault but he has not been competitive or winning for 4 years, it is time he retired gracefully. I hope he proves me wrong through 2018 but surely another driver could win in that Ferrari?

When was the last time a driver compete that long without a win and re-emerged victorious?

Kubica was reportedly slower than Stroll, who we know was a lot slower than Massa. Raikonnen outqualified vettel 2 years ago, took a pole away from him just this past year. As bad as Kimi has looked overall you’d have to think he is faster than Kubica now.

Kubica will never be 100% fit, due to the lack of movement in his arm and hand.. Shame, but true!!... Those twisty circiuts at top speeds would catch him out. Fall down the grid and will be looking lower then a mid field position if lucky. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure there will be a few circuits he would excel in, but driving a Williams would not merrit his full comeback as a full F1 driver.